Fibromyalgia - Day 4
Understanding the Gut and it's role in the body is a lifelong exercise but the last two blogs will have given a high level understanding of the importance of the Gut. The next steps is looking at the influence that stress and the gut may have on FM. We have all had upset stomachs, bloating, gas etc and all are a result of the gut not functioning at optimum but none is more important that when stress is thrown into the mix.
When we are feeling stressed the brain triggers 'the sympathetic response' in order to protect itself and this is when the the gut lining I already mentioned becomes compromised. This 'fight or flight' response robs blood from the gut and moves it to the limbs..this allows your body to run away form the lion or the perceived danger. Unfortunately in today';s world when the boys has ongoing stress and anxiety that 'sympathetic response' is always on the go which contributes to the gut permeability...the end result can be autoimmune disease, food intolerance's, inflammation to name but a few.
The picture below..think of your body as your house and the roof is your stomach lining..inside the house you have all the normal everyday things - the door hinges = joints, the fire = lungs, TV = brain etc. Then the rain comes and you have a 'leaky roof'..the rain falls on your TV(brain) which can cause brain fog, memory issues. It falls on your hinges and they get rusty can lead to painful joints...you get the idea.. The key is that a leaky gut just like a leaky roof can cause all kinds of dysfunctions/symptoms/issues in your body and for people with FM this can explain why the symptoms can be worse in times of stress....so stress/anxiety must be looked at as a key contributing factor in FM and must be the key component when devising a plan to help alleviate symptoms.
Tomorrow - the sunnier side 💖...what you can do to help FM.
When we are feeling stressed the brain triggers 'the sympathetic response' in order to protect itself and this is when the the gut lining I already mentioned becomes compromised. This 'fight or flight' response robs blood from the gut and moves it to the limbs..this allows your body to run away form the lion or the perceived danger. Unfortunately in today';s world when the boys has ongoing stress and anxiety that 'sympathetic response' is always on the go which contributes to the gut permeability...the end result can be autoimmune disease, food intolerance's, inflammation to name but a few.
The picture below..think of your body as your house and the roof is your stomach lining..inside the house you have all the normal everyday things - the door hinges = joints, the fire = lungs, TV = brain etc. Then the rain comes and you have a 'leaky roof'..the rain falls on your TV(brain) which can cause brain fog, memory issues. It falls on your hinges and they get rusty can lead to painful joints...you get the idea.. The key is that a leaky gut just like a leaky roof can cause all kinds of dysfunctions/symptoms/issues in your body and for people with FM this can explain why the symptoms can be worse in times of stress....so stress/anxiety must be looked at as a key contributing factor in FM and must be the key component when devising a plan to help alleviate symptoms.
Tomorrow - the sunnier side 💖...what you can do to help FM.